By Tom Nader

Publisher and Editor

The future of the Metro Athletic Conference will have a new look.

Kent City Schools formally announced on Wednesday afternoon that Kent Roosevelt High School and Stanton Middle School have accepted an invitation to join the MAC, pending approval at the district’s Nov. 19 Board of Education meeting.

The announcement came through a formal press release that was approved by Superintendent Tom Larkin.

Roosevelt’s addition to the MAC comes as the league has reportedly agreed to expand to 10 teams, with Cuyahoga Falls and Tallmadge also reportedly part of the expansion.

Roosevelt, Cuyahoga Falls and Tallmadge all will make the transition from the Suburban League’s American Division.

There is no specific timeline, at this point, for the MAC’s expansion, as no year has been agreed upon and is considered a detail that will be determined in future discussions.

As of Wednesday, Cuyahoga Falls and Tallmadge had not formally announced their acceptance to the MAC.

The new-look MAC would include Cloverleaf, Cuyahoga Falls, Field, Kent Roosevelt, Norton, Ravenna, Springfield, Streetsboro, Tallmadge and Woodridge.

Coventry announced in July that it would be leaving the league to join the Principals Athletic Conference.

In Kent Roosevelt’s press release, it stated:

     “Following input from board members, administrators, coaches and community members, the decision for the change was primarily the similarity in student enrollment and proximity of Roosevelt High School to other Metro Athletic Conference schools. The Metro Athletic Conference allows Roosevelt to rekindle historic rivalries and create new ones in the process. These matchups not only foster community engagement, but also enhance the overall athletic experience for our students and supporters.”

Kent Roosevelt had been an original member of the Portage Trail Conference, which formed in 2005, then announced its departure from the league in 2013 and joined the Suburban League in 2015.

Roosevelt Athletic Director Ben Dunlap said that the district used multiple factors to make an “informed and well thought out” decision to make a league change, including a survey that was sent out to every parent in the district, allowing them the opportunity to vote on the potential for a league change and the survey also allowed the families to provide feedback about any potential decision.

Dunlap said that the survey returned a vote of 82 percent in favor of a change to the MAC.